wikiHow is a wiki similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are written collaboratively. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 20,316 times.
Learn more...

You’re a teacher but you’re not satisfied, why? Because all your students do is just yawn or chat with their friends whenever you talk. How do you avoid that? Teaching creatively is highly essential to ensure your 1 hour with the students is made into full use.

Steps

1

Check if you're creative. You need to tap your creativity first, only then will it flow into your classroom and finally reach your students. Know your lessons and how far out of the box can the lessons go e.g. Numbers: Games, algorithms, Sudoku Language: History, re-enactment, stories, role-playing.

2

Know what they need. Be aware of the level you are teaching and the absorption of information according to age:

Elementary: Learning curve, fill them with more information in a 50 % text/ 50% pictorial method

Secondary: Chances are they know what you’re saying, but there are many things that they could be ignorant on, tap on that. Study the style of each student, cater accordingly. You must always be more knowledgeable than them to awe them.

3

Study your students. Remember names, start with ambitions, their level of understanding and compliment them. Talk on their likes/dislikes. Study their character. e.g. If the student is a quiet one, make him answer some questions moderately (else you may be mistaken to pick on him), joke about, make him feel safe to share his thoughts.

The chatterboxes: Play along with them, divert their conversation to the topic, let them get excited and bring them back to the classroom topic.

The sleepy ones: Ask them why they are sleepy, if reasonable, let them sleep, for 5 minutes and let them be fresh for the rest of the session. (You will be respected and appreciated by some students at the same time. The lesson goes through amazingly well when the student is done with his power nap.)

4

Vary and rotate the lesson tools. Make them become teacher for one day – this helps them get rid of fear of getting attention. Next, use pictures/puzzles/out of the box activities to make them alert. Have competition/quizzes/tests to let them be the winner. Mix & match the lessons, so that it is not too paper–centric/rigid. Connect lessons with their likes and dislikes. Challenge their level, tease their ego a bit to make self-initiate them to improve themselves

5

Change the environment. Change the classroom environment: change seats every week, just for one lesson. Have fun making seats face each other or in a circle – focus on you being able to reach out to ALL students, no one sits in a corner where you can't go near them or catch them dozing away. Say please and thank you if they rebel – feed them compliments later on.

6

Admit mistakes. If you wet their books in the rain, admit your fault, and buy them new books. You become a step closer to them – make a connection then. Maintain your integrity and always be humble to your students. Be assertive to those who are stubborn or if they rebel too much, focus on those who require your attention. Ignorance is bliss for that day.

7

Break your lessons into, your time > their time > lesson time. If it’s language, try explaining in local language, slowly (after a month) mention that they should start converse in that language and finally (the next month) give them small penalty if they do not speak in the language taught. (Fun and interesting way of punishing, it should never embarrass the students). If it’s numbers, try to experiment with the speed level of each students.

Article Info

wikiHow is a wiki similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are written collaboratively. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 20,316 times.